


Frauds and Friends

by StaishBlackRose



Category: Free!
Genre: Gen, bros before hoes, marinka ftw, ot3 at its friendshippy finest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-22
Updated: 2015-11-22
Packaged: 2018-05-02 18:58:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5259977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StaishBlackRose/pseuds/StaishBlackRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What was the only happening that could cast gloom over Rin's Olympic victory? And was it really worth it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Frauds and Friends

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by an episode from the Russian analogue of Big Fat Loser and I don't know what to add to this...

“Are you sure it’s our seats?” Makoto looked around, uncomfortably shifting in his place.  
“We always invite you to VIP spots.” Haru squeezed the metal parapet, not bothering to turn to his friend.  
“Yes, I know… but this place is so enormous. And we are sitting closer to the pool than the press!”  
Haru chose not to comment this and Tachibana just sighed, trying to calm himself down. The arena was intimidatingly huge. Hundreds kws of light, thousands of people and millions of nerves stretched to the max.  
Olympic games. Swimming. Male freestyle.  
Tachibana quickly glanced at his best friend once again. He knew Haru wasn’t sad about being on the spectators side of the arena. Competitive swimming was never his goal anyway. Swimming for a living – yes, and he earned enough through years to not give a damn about Olympics. He made it to qualifications and then gladly, maybe a little bit eagerly even, gave Rin his long-awaited chance to fulfill his dream. And that’s how they both appeared here, in the VIP booth, on the edge of their seats, anticipating to shout their friend’s name on top of their lungs.  
“Hello, boys!” Gou interrupted Makoto’s train of thought and descended onto a seat next to Haru.  
“Hi, Gou! How is Rin doing?” Tachibana jumped to the opportunity to distract himself from pondering about Haru’s tensed expression and Rin’s upcoming race.  
“Pacing around.” Gou sighed but her pride shined through her anxiety. “He literally couldn’t stand still while they were announcing the order and lanes.”  
“Well, he is being called shark for a number of reasons indeed.” Young man smiled, out of habbit trying to lighten up the atmosphere.  
“Have you seen Jessica?” The girl turned to Haru and he shrugged his shoulders.  
“Jessica?” Makoto repeated, raising his eyebrows.  
“Rin’s girlfriend.” Haru showed his voice in the conversation for the first time.  
“I didn’t know Rin got a girlfriend.”  
“He completely lost his head. I think it’s love.” Gou smiled dreamily and happily tapped her palms on her knees.  
Makoto glanced at Haru again and saw his jaw tensing under his pale skin. Other than that he decided not to comment this information exchange and proceeded to observe the pool in front of them. There was no point worrying about Rin and the race, really. He was currently one of the best and talked about sportsmen. His face could be found in most magazines, no matter if it was a swimming observer newspaper or a cover of a girls’ gloss. Journalists in advance called this Olympic race a “Shark hunt”. Now Makoto thought that maybe that’s why Rin didn’t tell about having a girlfriend. Not because he didn’t trust Makoto, but realistically, the less people know, the safer the secret. Haru probably saw them at trainings and Gou is part of the family so.  
“What is she like?” He asked, turning to his former teammates.  
“Uhm… She is very stylish. And beautiful. They met back in Australia. I think she said that she works for some model agency. She doesn’t talk much. At least when someone apart from my brother is present.”  
“Oh, sounds a bit like you, Haru.” Makoto desperately tried to figure friend’s distress but unusually nothing came to mind. It’s like Haru suddenly learned how to put up defense around his thoughts.  
The creaky voice from the dynamics brought Makoto back to reality, sharply reminding of why they all gathered here today. The trio leaned forward in their seats looking for the familiar redhead.  
And there he was, on the second lane from them. Face unusually calm, hands warming up the biceps. The absolute silence reigned over the arena as the swimmers took their places on the marks. Friends screw their eyes and fixated on the rubber band of the red goggles and, as soon as it snapped back, they knew – this is going to be a shark hunt indeed.  
When you are swimming time seems to slow down, every minute drags like a warmed up caramel, every stroke takes eternity in which you have a chance to think of a million variants, all the possible outcomes of the race & plan out every following step.  
When you are sitting on the stands it all happens in literally seconds. Friends didn’t even have time to lose their voices or get their throats soar. There was no real competition. At least with Rin. He forged ahead before the first turn and never lost the lead. He got out of the pool with victorious, signature bare teeth smile that made a whole generation of girls get dizzy in the head. Immediately a dozen camera shots went off. In a joyful outburst Rin ran straight to the stands, firstly hugging his mum, who preferred to stand close to the pool instead of sitting in the VIP seats, and then to the friends and sister, who have already leaned over the parapet with their arms open.  
“I did it, guys!” He shouted over the roaring arena. ”You saw it! I did it!”  
“We are so proud of you, brother!” Both Matsuoka’s faces were wet with tears.  
“You were great!” Makoto hugged the redhead tighter, struggling hard not to join their sentimental gust.  
“You made your dream come true, Rin.” Haru stated with a slight smile, awkwardly petting friend’s head.  
Suddenly he pulled away from them, looking behind their shoulders. Confusion reflected on his face before he looked at Gou questionably.  
“She didn’t come.” The girl said quietly.  
Rin’s face fell and he quickly turned away, rubbing his face with the back of his hand. In a moment he rushed to the arena entrance with journalists on his tale.  
Makoto jumped up ready to follow him but Gou caught him by the hand.  
“I will talk to him. Don’t get into the lenses.” She said firmly before leaving the VIP stands.  
“What does it all mean?” Tachibana turned to silent Haru.  
“I think it’s time for us to leave, Makoto. Let’s return to your flat?” He stood up and headed to the entrance as well. Makoto followed still trying to connect together everything that just happened.  
They sat into Makoto’s car parked in front of the backdoor and drove home. All the ride Haru kept same face as he had before the race. Face that made Makoto so uneasy.  
“I will take care of the dinner.” Haru dropped as soon as they entered the flat.  
While he was busy in the kitchen, Makoto checked sports news. Every website had photos of Rin leaving the arena captured with some sharky remark.  
“Hey, stop troubling yourself.” Haru tapped friend’s shoulder, distracting him from the screen. “Let’s eat.”  
“I know you are not telling me something.” Makoto wasn’t at all happy with this sudden wall separating their minds. It happened before just once and it was different. Now it felt like Makoto was the only one left outside and he couldn’t think of how it was connected with Rin.  
“I don’t…” Haru began talking but something rang in his voice and he had to start again. “I don’t want you to worry, Makoto.”  
“But I am already worried!” He raised his voice slightly and looked straight into friend’s eyes trying to fight through his defenses once again. Just like always when Makoto hit the right spot, Haru turned away and looked down. His hands twitched on his knees.  
“Rin’s girlfriend is not what he thinks she is. He muttered quietly. Makoto knew he didn’t like telling long stories but now it became a secondary concern.” She was at the training once when Rin was not there. And she tried to get it on with me. She said that she needs Rin just to promote herself and that she has no other care for him and that’s why she turned to me.”  
“No way.” Makoto covered his mouth with his palm.  
“I immediately pushed her away but I couldn’t tell Rin. You saw him, you saw how he reacts to her.”  
“Yes, I know, I understand.” Tachibana frowned. “Did you try to contact him after the race?”  
“No. I thought he might want to be left alone.” Haru shrugged his shoulders, kicking a piece of fish around his bowl.  
“Oh, Haru…” Makoto shook his head and as soon as he withdrew the phone out of his pocket it started vibrating.  
“Rin! Are you okay? Where are you?”  
“I am in my hotel room. Well, in the bath.” Rin’s voice sounded hoarse and sluggish. And definitely tipsy. “Makoto… how could she do this to me? I… what did I do wrong?”  
“Rin, stop.” Haru pressed his face to the other side of the phone.  
“Haru, you saw her, right? How could she…” His speech interrupted for a sob.  
“We are so sorry, Rin. Can we do something?” Makoto frowned at Haru and put the phone to his other ear.  
“Can you drive here? It’s so lonely and big here.”  
“We are on the way!” Tachibana nodded in sync with his friend.

 

It was dim in the enormous and slightly too luxurious bathroom. Too much gold and marble. Too much space and unnecessary buttons on the walls that echoed every sound as if you were in a cathedral. Glistering floor mirrored your every step same as high ceiling with heavy crystal chandeliers which looked absolutely ridiculous if you remember what room we are talking about.  
But no one would complain about the bath, proudly dominating a podium in the middle of this “palace”. It stood right in front of the panoramic wall, offering a magnificent view on the never sleeping city, glowing with neon light.  
But it seemed like a young man, currently occupying the bathtub, was not interested in any from the above. He laid propped against the smooth side, buried in the avalanche of fluffy foam. His bright red hair contrasted drastically with the snow-white enamel and on the opposite was in perfect harmony with the wine, splashing in an elegant glass, firmly held between the thin fingers. Rin raised the glass and looked through it as if he suddenly doubted if the wine was still there. The other hand pressed a cigarette to his lips before limply falling back over the side of the bathtub. He was so engrossed into observing the crimson liquid he didn’t even hear the sound of the door shut open and coughing that followed.  
“What are you doing?” familiar voice made him shift his stare.  
“Oh, friends, you came!” He slurred out.  
“Rin!” Makoto looked at him with unusually wide eyes. “How many did you smoke?”  
He just shrugged his shoulders and put the cigarette butt off by dipping it into the steamy water. Haru visibly winced at this disrespectful gesture.  
“And how many did you drink?” continued the tallest boy, kicking one of the bottles lying around on the glossy floor.  
“Rin.” Haru came closer to the bath. “Stop this. Get out and let’s talk.”  
“As if you can bear talking about people’s feeling for long.” Rin scoffed and made another sip.  
“That’s why we both have him.” Nanase pointed at the friend, who was still looking at the mess around him in badly covered disbelief. “Now, get out.”  
“No.” Rin capriciously crossed his hands on his chest.  
“You’ve been sitting here for hours, you turned all wrinkly.”  
“Look who’s talking!”  
“Guys!” Makoto interrupted them. “Jeez, how do you live in hotels together?”  
Both kept silent.  
“It’s either you get out or we get in.”  
“Haru!”  
“Fine!”  
“Rin!”  
Haru was already sliding his clothes off and in a few seconds he positioned himself on the other side of the conveniently large bath. Makoto sighed looking at his friends, both behaving like little children when he came here for a serious talk. Well, he shouldn’t have been so hopeful. With a couple shakes of the head he also joined the bath.  
“So, how are you Rin?” Makoto began, busying his hands with fluffy substance floating on the surface.  
“I am freaking great.” In one big gulp redhead emptied the glass.  
“You know the coach is going to be furious with you smoking again.” Haru pointed, sliding down the side till only the upper half of his face was visible.  
“I won the Olympics. What else does he want?” Rin carelessly put the glass down with a loud cling.  
“Rin, we came here not to fight with you.” Makoto looked straight into his friend’s face. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”  
“I… no…. I…” Rin stuttered and suddenly hid his face in his hands. “I don’t know where even to start, Makoto.”  
“It’s okay, Haru told me.” Tachibana’s calm voice sounded enveloping and soft. “No need to go into details.”  
“I am sorry I didn’t tell you myself.” Rin’s voice sounded nothing like a minute ago. All the cockiness and arrogance were gone. “It’s not because I didn’t trust you. It’s just… You see people through and she… I heard rumours but I didn’t want to believe them. And I knew you would read her like a book and I would not be able to hear it from you.”  
“I know it’s none of my business but why did you stay if you felt something wrong?”  
“Because I didn’t believe. Didn’t want to believe. And I liked being around her. And at some point I really thought I was in love.” Rin pulled his knees to his chest and put his chin on them, drawing patterns onto the soapy water.  
“She made you think that.” Haru emerged out of the foam. “And you know it. You deserve better than her.”  
“You think?” Rin chuckled bitterly.  
“Stop downplaying yourself. And pitying yourself.”  
Rin raised his head to look at Haru. Usually passive expression changed to fiery angry one. Makoto also looked at Haru in utter surprise. It’s been long since he saw Nanase heated up like that.  
“You know perfectly well you are better off without this fraud around you.” He spitted out.  
“Haru?” Makoto raised his eyebrows.  
“What? All three of us know Rin deserves better.” He mumbled, suddenly losing all of his bravado in an instant.  
A silent sob escaped Rin’s chest and in a brisk moment both Haru and Makoto appeared in his tight embrace. Tachibana backed away in surprise but quickly returned the hug whereas Haru just awkwardly patted friend’s wet back.  
“I am sorry for this outburst.” Rin muttered into friends’ shoulders. “Thank you both. I don’t know why I behaved like this, leaving my friends alone at the stadium.”  
“After you won the damn Olympics.” Haru added.  
“It’s okay, Rin, you feel better now and that’s what important to us.” Makoto reassuringly patted Matsuoka’s shoulder.  
Breaking away Rin rubbed his tears of his face and chuckled silently.  
“Do you think it would be awkward if we ask the room service to bring us some champagne in here?”


End file.
